We drove to the airport this morning and used up all our oinky doinkies at the café. After Prague, thanks to Carl and Ieuen, all foreign money is oinky doinkies. It wasn't hard to do, especially as a very small bottle of Grapetizer was $6 and a bag of Maltesers was $2. (I bought the Maltesers but not the Grapetizer). And then we went home. As the plane flew over Kigali, and I saw the rolling hills and lush greenery, tears filled my eyes and I was overwhelmingly happy to be home. Don't get me wrong, I had a great holiday and a lovely time with Dora, but travelling is tiring and Tanzania, in my opinion, doesn't hold a patch to Rwanda. It's hard to explain, but there's something special about Rwanda that I love, and I feel truly blessed to live here.
OK, so let me tell you about Kigali, Dar and Zanzibar.
Kigali is very small; it feels more like a town than a city, and it's quite rural. A building is high rise if it has two storeys. The town centre is developed; we have a small shopping centre and two supermarkets. The streets and buildings are immaculately clean. In three months I haven't seen a single piece of rubbish in the public areas. (In the housing estates there is some rubbish on the ground, but not much. I think people are still quite house
proud, even if they're really poor). Old women walk around sweeping the streets; not a single leaf is allowed to spoil the pavement. They tirelessly sweep up the red dust, knowing that in a few minutes a gust of wind with bring in a fresh batch. Kigali is beautifully landscaped. The grass is green and cut, the flowers bright and fragranced. The roads are tarmacked and well marked; the rules are meticulously obeyed. It has a small town feel. People are really friendly; they greet you in the street and ask how you are. Everyone dresses well. Even the poorest people will wear nice, clean, ironed clothes. The people themselves are spotlessly clean, which baffles me completely considering how dusty it is. OK, so let me tell you about Kigali, Dar and Zanzibar.
Kigali is very small; it feels more like a town than a city, and it's quite rural. A building is high rise if it has two storeys. The town centre is developed; we have a small shopping centre and two supermarkets. The streets and buildings are immaculately clean. In three months I haven't seen a single piece of rubbish in the public areas. (In the housing estates there is some rubbish on the ground, but not much. I think people are still quite house
It is busy. Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa and you really notice it. The only time you find yourself walking down the street alone is when it's raining and everyone else has ducked for cover. But there feels like there's enough room. People respect your space; it doesn't feel uncomfortable or overcrowded. The atmosphere is great. It's really relaxed and friendly. Rwanda is so safe; there's practically no crime and no corruption. And I honestly feel as I’m walking around that God's hand is on this country, and the people are blessed.
I was only in Dar es Salaam for a total of three days, so I really don't have much right to pass comment on it. But I want you to understand what it's like. In my opinion, Dar is a big horrible city like London. You can pass blocks and blocks of buildings that appear to have no function. The buildings are dirty and tall, probably 15-20 storeys. If you want to see the sky you have to look straight up. There are no trees, no grass, no flowers. It is hot and smelly. The traffic is awful. You can sit in a queue for hours without moving. The roads are crowded and chaotic- it's a bit of a free for all. Considering how big it is, there aren't that many people but you still feel crowded out. Everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere. I wouldn't want to walk around by myself, and I wouldn't go out at night. I felt like I had to constantly watch my handbag and make sure no one had stolen it.
It is dirty. There is rubbish all over the streets. The streets themselves are old, blackened and cracked. And the smell coming off the ocean is phenomenal.
Stone Town in Zanzibar is charming. I found it a delightful place to stay. True, it's quite dirty, but it gets away with it because it's old. Zanzibar has a really Arab feel to it, which is great. It feels like you have left Africa and stepped into the Middle East. The Arabs ruled for a long time an you can see their influence everywhere you go. The streets are narrow and winding; the doors are tall and imposing, dark wood with gold detail. The buildings are antiquated; many are falling down, they are not well kept. But somehow this just adds to the character. It is 95% Muslim and the women look stunning in their brightly coloured headscarfs and decorated burkhas, with their deep, painted eyes staring back at you. Because we were with Job we didn't stay in the tourists areas, he showed us around the real town. The market places were chock-a-block with every fruit of veg you could think of, as well as many you couldn't. What really struck me as out of place were the massive communist style concrete tower blocks that you see in Eastern Europe. There were several of them in the town, built by the government to provide affordable housing for the poor. They are grey and ugly, and look very unnatural. I think Zanzibar is quite poor. As we drove through the villages it became very apparent that the Zanzibar the tourists see is very different from the Zanzibar that the majority of local people experience. I guess this is pretty much true wherever you go. The islanders were very laid back and relaxed. Something I really enjoyed was the frequency with which people said Hakunna Matatta. It's their way of life, and it seems to work for them.
My favourite thing about being in Tanzania was that Dora was just as much a tourist as I was. People would take one look at her, see the colour of her skin and assume she was Tanzanian. They would talk to her in Swahili, which would be fine for a couple of minutes because she knows the basics, but once they really got going, she wouldn't have a clue what they were saying. We would burst into fits of giggles as she asked if they could please continue the conversation in English. It was hilarious.
So my conclusion is, if you're looking for somewhere to live, come to Kigali; if your want a great holiday, go to Zanzibar, and if you're crazy, go to Dar. But seriously, it's just my opinion. I’m sure Dar has many redeeming qualities that I wasn't there long enough to notice.
I was only in Dar es Salaam for a total of three days, so I really don't have much right to pass comment on it. But I want you to understand what it's like. In my opinion, Dar is a big horrible city like London. You can pass blocks and blocks of buildings that appear to have no function. The buildings are dirty and tall, probably 15-20 storeys. If you want to see the sky you have to look straight up. There are no trees, no grass, no flowers. It is hot and smelly. The traffic is awful. You can sit in a queue for hours without moving. The roads are crowded and chaotic- it's a bit of a free for all. Considering how big it is, there aren't that many people but you still feel crowded out. Everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere. I wouldn't want to walk around by myself, and I wouldn't go out at night. I felt like I had to constantly watch my handbag and make sure no one had stolen it.
It is dirty. There is rubbish all over the streets. The streets themselves are old, blackened and cracked. And the smell coming off the ocean is phenomenal.
Stone Town in Zanzibar is charming. I found it a delightful place to stay. True, it's quite dirty, but it gets away with it because it's old. Zanzibar has a really Arab feel to it, which is great. It feels like you have left Africa and stepped into the Middle East. The Arabs ruled for a long time an you can see their influence everywhere you go. The streets are narrow and winding; the doors are tall and imposing, dark wood with gold detail. The buildings are antiquated; many are falling down, they are not well kept. But somehow this just adds to the character. It is 95% Muslim and the women look stunning in their brightly coloured headscarfs and decorated burkhas, with their deep, painted eyes staring back at you. Because we were with Job we didn't stay in the tourists areas, he showed us around the real town. The market places were chock-a-block with every fruit of veg you could think of, as well as many you couldn't. What really struck me as out of place were the massive communist style concrete tower blocks that you see in Eastern Europe. There were several of them in the town, built by the government to provide affordable housing for the poor. They are grey and ugly, and look very unnatural. I think Zanzibar is quite poor. As we drove through the villages it became very apparent that the Zanzibar the tourists see is very different from the Zanzibar that the majority of local people experience. I guess this is pretty much true wherever you go. The islanders were very laid back and relaxed. Something I really enjoyed was the frequency with which people said Hakunna Matatta. It's their way of life, and it seems to work for them.
My favourite thing about being in Tanzania was that Dora was just as much a tourist as I was. People would take one look at her, see the colour of her skin and assume she was Tanzanian. They would talk to her in Swahili, which would be fine for a couple of minutes because she knows the basics, but once they really got going, she wouldn't have a clue what they were saying. We would burst into fits of giggles as she asked if they could please continue the conversation in English. It was hilarious.
So my conclusion is, if you're looking for somewhere to live, come to Kigali; if your want a great holiday, go to Zanzibar, and if you're crazy, go to Dar. But seriously, it's just my opinion. I’m sure Dar has many redeeming qualities that I wasn't there long enough to notice.
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